Major Announcements

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PDRA Lake Norman Quarry – CLOSED until further notice

Today (September 21, 2023) the PDRA cooperated in an investigation by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission at Lake Norman Quarry. There was a complaint filed that there were zebra mussels in the quarry.  A team of 4 divers and 2 support folks were on-site all afternoon.

They did find zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) which are considered an invasive species.  The jurisdiction of the Wildlife Resources Commission gives them the right to close the quarry.  If you are curious about this you can read section (d) of Statute NCGS 113-292.

Since this is the first time that this species has been found in North Carolina there are a lot of unknows at this time.  Please be patient as the PDRA and NC Wildlife Resource Commission plan out next steps. I do not believe it will be a quick process.  We have over 1,000 members and it will not be possible to reply to everyone that has a particular question.  I ask that you please respect the authorities assigned to this as well as the PDRA board which will do everything we can to get back to diving at Lake Norman Quarry.

We will also be provided some gear decontamination information that I will send as soon as we have it.  One thing is to be sure all your gear has fully dried for 7 days if you have been diving in Lake Norman Quarry before you dive in another body of water.  Something else to keep in mind is that the larva can live for 72 days out of water.  I am not going to speculate on where the mussels came from or if they are in the other two quarries that the PDRA owns.  Please be mindful of your gear if you are traversing from bodies of water with a known mussel population and our quarries in North Carolina.

Thank you!
Michelle Slate
PDRA President

UPDATE: 10/18/2023

Dear Members — October 18th, 2023

I know you have been anxiously awaiting for additional information regarding the closure of Lake Norman Quarry as well as the condition of the two quarries (American and JMR/Blanche) that remain open.

Let’s start with good news:  The North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission (NCWRC) supervised dives at American and JMR over the past two days and found no physical evidence of zebra mussels.  A collection of water samples will be analyzed over the next two weeks and I will share the results after they are revealed to us.

The bad news:  Lake Norman Quarry remains closed at this time.  Additional water samples will be taken and analyzed to determine the concentration of the zebra mussels and locations within the quarry and water column. This will be needed in order to develop an irradiation plan.  The quarry will remain closed until we get the all clear from the NCWRC which may take upwards of a year or more.

I am the primary contact between the PDRA and the NCWRC.   Members may direct questions to info@ncpdra.org.  Questions may not be answered individually, but will be collected and answered in future communications.  The NCWRC will not accept calls from PDRA members and will redirect those back to the PDRA. Do not take it upon yourself to reach out to the NCWRC as you may jeopardize any cooperation that they are providing.  The NCWRC has a vested interest in irradiating the zebra mussels from Lake Norman quarry as well as protecting all the PDRA quarries from future infestation.

The NCWRC has published a lot of information on Aquatic Nuisance Species on their site at www.ncwildlife.org. There are links that will take you to a chart for decontaminating gear and equipment, zebra mussel fact sheet, and guidance for SCUBA divers.  It is important to be vigilant in cleaning gear especially when traveling between the PDRA quarries and other bodies of water.  Thoroughly cleaning and drying your equipment before and after diving is everyone’s responsibility to protect the quarries.

You may be wondering if renewing your PDRA membership for 2024 is a good investment and let me tell you why it is.  The PDRA operates for the sole benefit of our members.  The leadership is all volunteers and we’re all divers that love the advantage of having a place to train and dive 365 days a year. Granted that drive to reach your local quarry may take longer in 2024.  Membership dues are the only source of funds and if you’ve been a member for a few years, you know that the PDRA invests those dues directly back into the quarries such as aerators at all the quarries to improve visibility and reduce thermoclines, new dock and gear up benches at JMR, the big assembly building at American and more.

There will be additional traffic at American and JMR and this in and of itself will put a strain on those quarries.  The PDRA board is already discussing how we can make some quick improvements such as additional parking and adding gear up benches for the additional divers.  Luckily there is some time before spring diving season starts to make space to accommodate more members.

I hope to see you out diving at American or JMR in 2024!

Sincerely,
Michelle Slate
PDRA President

Update 07/25/2024

Lake Norman Quarry Update – July 25, 2024

The PDRA leadership has been working closely with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission (NCWRC) to secure funding and develop Requests For Proposals (RFPs).  We received funding based on the grant submission.  The state has opened the RFP through the state eProcurement system. Currently, the state is bound to a confidentiality portion of the process at this time.  We will share more information when we have more details on the zebra mussel eradication effort.  The state is expecting to receive all proposals by the end of August and hope to have a vendor selected by the end of September.  Thank you for your continued support of the PDRA!

Sincerely,
Michelle Slate
PDRA President

Update 11/07/2024

PDRA Membership Update on Lake Norman Quarry

Good evening PDRA members!  I’m providing this update on the work being done in an effort to reopen Lake Norman Quarry. As I’ve mentioned in previous emails, the PDRA is in complete cooperation with the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission (NCWRC) in order to develop a plan for the eradication of zebra mussels.  My utmost priority is the reopening of Lake Norman Quarry.

Grant Award:
On June 10, 2024 the NCWRC announced that a grant was awarded from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)  to fund zebra mussel eradication.  This was previously announced in an email to membership on June 13, 2024.  I would like to reiterate that it was only with the cooperation between the PDRA and the NCWRC that this award came to fruition. NCWRC was able to secure $225,000 to fund a contractor to treat the quarry.

Bid Process:
The NCWRC sent out an official request for bids on June 12, 2024, with a deadline of August 30, 2024.  With the announcement of the bid process, there was a period of confidentiality where the NCWRC was bound to limited communication per the requirements from the state. Once the bids were received by the NCWRC they were scored, ranked and rate based on a variety of factors.  On October 21, 2024, a vendor was selected that met the criteria of the contract. NCWRC is working with the vendor to complete the award process.

Next Steps:

  1. Aerators – The state asked that the aerators at Lake Norman Quarry be turned on to help normalize the water temperatures. Based on previous data collected by a board member, it will most likely take several months for the aerators to provide consistent temperatures top to bottom.
  2. Environmental Assessment (EA) – The state will need to complete an environmental assessment that addresses potential environmental impacts that could occur during the treatment.  This is to ensure any treatment plan minimizes the effects on the environment. The EA must be completed and approved prior to application of the molluscicide.
  3. LKN Quarry survey – a full understanding of the zebra mussel infestation and concentration will need to be made by state and federal authorities including the selected vendor.
  4. Treatment – will include the application of a molluscicide during optimal water temperatures.
  5. Monitoring Period – will include observations of zebra mussels pre and post treatment and during the application of the molluscicide.
  6. Post Treatment- monitoring will be conducted to determine the efficacy of the treatment. The monitoring results will inform what actions are completed next.

Timeline:
No specific timing is available at this time, but know that I am continuing to have regular conversations with the NCWRC and plan to see the PDRA through the reopening of Lake Norman Quarry.

Summary:
In closing, I would like to thank each member for their continued trust in me to complete the critical effort of reopening Lake Norman Quarry.  I appreciate the positive feedback that I’ve received related to my working relationship with the NCWRC representatives and this will last for as long as it takes.  I continue to share information received from the WRC as I received it.  Additional Information on the final awarded project will be shared once the state purchasing and contract process is complete. I will share the information as soon as I receive it.

Respectfully,
Michelle Slate
PDRA President

LAKE NORMAN QUARRY Updated 5/20/2025

On Monday, May 19, 2025, the NCWRC was at Lake Norman Quarry along with the USFWS and the sub-contractor that will be starting the zebra mussel eradication treatment sometime in June. NCWRC is overseeing the eradication project and visual evidence of zebra mussels were again found in the quarry. eDNA, veliger, and water samples were taken and will be analyzed off-site in order to aid in the treatment plan.

A minimum of two applications of the chemical will be used for treatment.  The first treatment is not expected until June 20 at the earliest.  More will be shared once the effectiveness of treatment can be determined.

There will be specific requirements for reopening that are not known at this time.

Updated 8/26/2025

 Lake Norman Quarry Update – August 2025

Dear PDRA Members,

I’m pleased to share encouraging news about the ongoing zebra mussel eradication efforts at Lake Norman Quarry, but first let’s examine how we arrived where we are today.

Here is a brief summary of events to-date:

September 21, 2023 Lake Norman Quarry was closed due to the discovery of Zebra mussels by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in order to contain the infestation.
April 14, 2024 NCWRC applied for a grant to help with the eradication of Zebra mussels at Lake Norman Quarry.  The grant was part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment Law Funds.
June 10, 2024 The PDRA received news that funding was awarded through the Aquatic Invasive Species Rapid Response Fund.  Subsequent request for proposals were solicited.
September 2024 Aerators at Lake Norman Quarry were turned on in anticipated of future molluscicide treatments.
November 19, 2024 The state contract for zebra mussel eradication was awarded to Earth Science Labs, Inc. who has broad experience in mussel eradication across the world.  Local sub-contractor AquaDoc, was selected to apply selected treatment and a private consultant was selected to provide independent evaluations of the efficacy of the treatment.
March 1, 2025 The PDRA was notified that disbursement of funds awarded through the Aquatic Invasive Species Rapid Response Fund were paused pending review by the federal executive branch.
March 25, 2025 Further clarification came from USFWS that the project for eradication of zebra mussels in Lake Norman Quarry could resume.
May 19, 2025 The USFWS conducted dives at depths of 20 to 40 feet with three dives conducted in the training area where zebra mussels were found previously.  eDNA samples, veliger tows and water samples were collected. Live zebra mussels were collected and dispersed in cages at multiple locations across the quarry that would later be used to measure the efficacy of treatments.
June 26, 2025 After quarry temperatures rose to be consistently over 60 degrees, the first treatment of copper was applied at a rate of 0.20 mg/L. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency sets the maximum concentration of metallic copper at 1.0 mg/L.
July 10, 2025 A second treatment was scheduled for this day, but was not performed due to copper levels remaining near first treatment levels.

After two years of planning, testing, and collaboration, a major milestone has been reached:
✅ Zebra Mussel Eradication Status
•     All zebra mussels placed in test cages have died—indicating that the chemical is effective at killing adult mussels.
•     No additional treatments are planned at this time.
•     Post-monitoring sampling is underway, including veliger tows and eDNA. If results confirm zero presence of zebra mussels, I hope to be able to share a reopening timeline soon.
•     NCWRC is expected to coordinate with the USFWS and the vendor to conduct dives within the next few weeks as well as obtain subsequent water samples, eDNA tests, and veliger tows.  All the sampling will be used to further evaluate the efficacy of treatment.

🐟 Paddlefish and Aquatic Life
While the treatment was designed to minimize harm to non-target species, we regret to report that approximately two-thirds of the paddlefish population—originally introduced in 2011—have been mortally impacted. The chemical used was selected specifically for its minimal impact on other aquatic life; more aggressive alternatives like potash were rejected due to their likelihood of causing total mortality across all species.  Unfortunately, the paddlefish’s unique biology as filter feeders likely contributed to their vulnerability. This outcome is deeply disappointing, and we recognize how meaningful these fish are to our members and to the PDRA community.  Encouragingly, state representatives observed live fish during subsequent visits. Plant life is showing signs of stress as expected, but overall viability remains strong. It may be possible to reintroduce paddlefish to the quarry in the future if conditions are favorable.

🧼 Gear Cleaning Protocols
To prevent the spread of zebra mussels across North Carolina, new gear cleaning procedures are now posted at all PDRA quarries. These protocols must be followed by anyone diving in any body of water known to contain zebra mussels.
•     Cleaning stations will be available at Lake Norman Quarry and may expand to other sites.
•     Full procedures are available at www.NCPDRA.org under the Members tab.

We know how much Lake Norman Quarry means to our members—and we’re doing everything possible to ensure its safe and timely reopening. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and commitment to protecting the PDRA quarries and North Carolina’s waters.

Warm regards,
Michelle Slate
PDRA President